Joining other industry participants, American Airlines on Monday voiced its concerns about comments written by GBTA CEO Scott Solombrino. GBTA board member Kathy Briski, meanwhile, resigned from GBTA on Friday, a spokesperson for the association confirmed.
“American Airlines strongly condemns the alleged behavior of Scott Solombrino,” according to a company statement. “We applaud the GBTA staff who courageously brought these concerns to light, as well as the GBTA organization and their efforts to launch an immediate and thorough investigation. We will await those results.
“American prides itself on an inclusive culture that welcomes and respects all people, from all walks of life,” AA wrote. “We expect the same from our partners, and believe any behavior to the contrary must be stamped out if an organization is to succeed. We trust that GBTA will get to the bottom of these accusations quickly, take appropriate and swift action, and protect an organization that has traditionally been a strong partner in the travel industry.”
GBTA on Friday put Solombrino on administrative leave while it investigates allegations about the conduct of GBTA’s leadership described in a letter purportedly written by former and current staff.
Briski is a travel category manager at the airplane manufacturer. Media relations personnel with Boeing did not respond to requests for comment on Friday and Saturday about the company’s association with GBTA.
On Friday, travel tech firm Rocketrip posted on LinkedIn that Solombrino’s words and actions were “unacceptable and run entirely against what we stand for.”
“Our culture and business are built on empowering and investing in people, and the language used by Solombrino about GBTA employees, as well as his previous statements towards women that I am now aware of, are in complete opposition to that,” wrote VP of marketing Liam Moroney. “For that reason, my team decided that we would not continue to sponsor an event in which Solombrino was the host.
“I believe marketing leaders have an obligation to lead by example with our advertising dollars,” Moroney added. “The people we have worked with at GBTA have always been incredible and we stand by them and appreciate them.”
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Disclosure: The Company Dime currently provides content to the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, like GBTA a corporate travel membership association, for a fee. The Company Dime is also in discussions with a private trade show organizer about its interest in launching a new expo in corporate travel. These are conflicts of interest which the reader should consider as part of their understanding of this article.